END OF SEMESTER SUMMARY – DECEMBER 15 2014
LINKS:
First Year Proposal
Solo Sketches of Physical Exercises
Workshop Reports
Advisor Meeting Reports
Peer Critique Reports
STUDIO
PRACTICE
Goals
& Intentions
To develop,
document and describe exercises in Physical Preparation (of body and mind) and
Creative Response (in play and interaction) that are conducive to constructing
the self as a versatile medium for performance.
To investigate
methods of creating new work using these physical and creative tools.
Methods
I created a
series of “Solo Sketches” to demonstrate my Physical Exercises.
These are
presented as video documentation with accompanying instructional text.
I facilitated two
series of workshops in Asheville NC, where I am based.
My “guinea-pig
students” were members of Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater and the
Asheville Butoh collective respectively. These workshops were process and
feedback oriented.
I also
facilitated a community workshop in Salisbury MD which was geared towards
culminating in a public performance.
These workshops
are presented in my blog as detailed reports of exercises with student feedback
and my own observations – plus segments of video documentation.
Questions
& Suggestions
From studio advisor
Laura Gonzales:
“Where is the work?” Laura is always asking – challenging me
to regard every aspect of what I am doing and ask “where is the art? where is
the work here?” Can it be developed somewhere unexpected that I am not thinking
of? The language used in describing the exercises, the video documentation, the
presentation of a curriculum as well as the movement of the body, the intention
of the exercises, the development of original performance pieces. “Where is the Art?”
From critique
group peers:
Who is this
curriculum for?
How will the
resulting curriculum look?
How do I intend
to utilize the four categories of: 1. Definition, History & Context, 2.
Physical Preparation, 3. Creative Response, play & Interaction, 4.
Assignments & New Work.
How am I
integrating the underlying themes of my work as an artist (Transformation,
Metamorphosis, Transcendence) into my pedagogy?
From workshop
participants & crit group:
Alteration of
“normal” conditions – a suggestion to perform exercises under altered
conditions to help define the intention and intensify the physical and mental
experience.
For example:
alter clarity of vision in order to focus internally on the breath and on the
connection with the earth for balance and stability.
And: perform
exercises in an altered environment – such as under water, or even something as
simple as music that contrasts the intention of the exercise.
When leading a
workshop exercise, make sure my directions are clear and unambiguous. Lead
students through each step and thoroughly introduce and explore each idea
individually before combining different elements.
How can exercises
be adapted to suit different ages, levels and abilities?
What relationship
do these exercises have to Performance Art?
Concern about
safety issues and risk of injury.
Is it necessary
for the exercises to be so long?
Participants
express a desire for social interaction – to be able to observe each other
during individual movement exploration and also to include more interactive
exercises.
From faculty
in Berlin this summer:
Jean Marie
Casbarian: What is your work about? Do you consider your practice as a
pedagogical practice?
Andrew Cooks:
What about your work is important to you?
Results
& Conclusions
On the most part
I feel satisfied with the results of this semesters studio work.
Ideally, I would
like to have covered more ground in every aspect of the work. There are more
Physical Preparation exercises I plan to develop and add to the “Solo Sketches”
blog, as well as exploring them in a workshop setting to receive student
feedback. There are also many more Creative Response exercises to explore in a
workshop environment.
The main area I
did not have the opportunity to make progress with is the creation of new work
utilizing the tools provided through these physical and creative exercises. In
order to accomplish this, it is necessary to work intensively with the same
group of students for several sessions – which I was unable to do this
semester. However, my studio advisor, Laura Gonzales, suggested that I can still
accomplish this as a solo project, and that it would in fact be more beneficial
to do so before bringing the method into a workshop situation.
Over all, the
work that was accomplished feels very thorough, significant and cogent, and I
can see a shape forming for what will become a practical and comprehensive
pedagogy.
RESEARCH
Goals
& Intentions
To study the
chronological history of 20th century Performance Art.
To understand
more about the role of performance in an anthropological context.
To investigate
current pedagogical methods of Performance Art.
Methods
Reading:
RoseLee Goldberg
– Performance Art: From Futurism To Present. Thames & Hudson, 2011.
(completed)
RoseLee Goldberg
– Performance: Live Art since 1960. Harry N Abrams Inc, 1998.
(completed)
Guillermo
Gomez-Pena / Roberto Sifuentes – Exercises For Rebel Artists: Radical
Performance Pedagogy. Routledge,
2011. (completed)
Richard Schechner
– Performance Studies: An Introduction. Routledge, 2013.
(still reading)
Nathan Stucky /
Cynthia Wimmer – Teaching Performance Studies. Southern Illinois University
Press, 2002. (still reading)
Victor Turner –
The Anthropology Of Performance. PAJ Publications, 1988.
(still reading)
Michael Huxley /
Noel Witts – The Twentieth-Century Performance Reader. Routledge, 2002. (still
reading)
Online
research:
Performance Art
syllabi search of educational institutions.
Questions
& Suggestions
From research
advisor Laura Bissell:
Laura B sent me a
suggested bibliography (which is included in Advisor Meeting Report 2)
As I am quite a
slow reader, she suggested I search for specific articles once I have narrowed
down my subject matter to key points of interest.
From studio
advisor Laura Gonzales:
Laura G suggested
I research all types of syllabi and curricula in order to grasp a comprehensive
understanding of how they function and for insight into possibilities for
presentation methods – then begin to structure my own.
She also
suggested that the writing I have done in creating reports, instructions and
descriptions for my studio work this semester might be of value to incorporate
into my research paper.
A possible
research paper topic might be on the subject of exactly how the exercises I am
developing prepare the body and mind for performance.
Results
& Conclusions
Reading RoseLee
Goldberg’s performance art chronologies has really helped to gain a historic
perspective and fill in some gaps for me.
The flow of how one artistic movement fed into another, due to key
individuals, political influences and other radical changes in philosophy,
psychology, art and fashion are all very apparent in her books. They also
introduced me to artists I had previously had little or no knowledge of and who
I will now continue to research.
The subject of
Performance Studies is not one that I have researched in depth as a subject
apart from artistic performance, although I have been aware of its concepts. I
am currently reading Richard Schechner and Victor Turner plus a reader compiled
by Nathan Stucky and Cynthia Wimmer. These viewpoints are providing me with
insight on the roles of performance in society and in perceiving actions as
performative – for the function of communication (in both humans and animals).
“Exercises For
Rebel Artists” has truly delighted me! I could hear loud and clear the voices
of Gomez-Pena and Sifuentes – their language feels very natural and familiar to
me. I appreciate the fact that their pedagogy is a well-rounded method that
leaves aesthetic choices to the individual. Even though their own artistic,
social and political choices are so radical and provocative, their method is one
that stands alone and does not necessarily dictate their own aesthetic results.
This is exactly what I am aiming to achieve in my own pedagogical method.
So far my
research time has been somewhat limited as my focus has been on producing and
clearly communicating my studio practice work. However, the materials I have
absorbed have been enriching and I look forward to more intensive study in the
coming months.
GOING
FORWARD
My goals for the
immediate future are to follow up on “loose threads” still hanging from my
Studio Practice semester. I would like to respond to questions that were posed
to me by workshop participants, my peer group and Transart faculty.
I also want to
complete a solo project to explore and demonstrate the use of my physical and
creative exercises as tools in the creation of new work.
Going into the
spring semester, I aim to research the possibilities of syllabus and curriculum
formats and shape mine in a manner that feels most suitable for the work.
With the help of
my research advisor Laura Bissell, I will formulate a research paper that
supports and defends the intentions of my project.
